Seeking the Slivers of Light

I have been feeling down in the dumps this past week.

The state of the nation and the world tops the list of things tugging at my heart, contributing to the feelings of malaise I'm experiencing.  And maybe, introspectively, that is what hangs over my head like the storm clouds that have been rolling in from the Gulf.  Bucket loads of rain fall, often accompanied by squalling winds, making me wonder what it must be like here on the beach during a hurricane.  

When the rain stops, it's warm and humid--my kind of weather.  The sun often succeeds in its valiant effort to peek through the oppressive grey, along with smidgeons of blue skies.  If I encourage it to serve as a reminder that there is always, always something to feel grateful for, the heavy feelings lift.  I rejoice in the memories of the visits from family and friends over the past ten weeks, something last year at this time were impossible to experience.  Each time I walk the beach, I find a couple shells to add to my collection.  (This has not been a particularly good shelling year on a beach that is not a particularly good shelling beach to begin with.  I've been delighted by the number of kitten paw shells I've discovered.)  Watching the grands literally frolic in the waves created lasting memories I can pull up as I wish.  There have been a couple monumental sunsets unlike any I've seen in the past.

And yet, the state of the nation and the world weighs heavily.  

I recently finished listening to the podcast, In Plain Sight: Lady Bird Johnson, based on the book by Julia Sweig.  Turns out that Mrs. Johnson not only kept a written diary, she also spoke her thoughts into one of those old reel to reel tape recorders.  I highly recommend this podcast; I've put the book on my list.  It reminded me of the horribly turbulent sixties and that many societal ills were (allegedly) addressed, if not resolved, by political action.  

There is a sliver of light.  The nation has been through distressingly difficult times before.  It can be done.

CBS News recently presented a feature with President George W. Bush, who has published a new book.  Out of Many, One: Portraits of American Immigrants shows portraits the former president has painted of immigrants to our country.  I was NOT a fan of W when he was president, but felt, even then, that he was really a decent human being way out of his league in the presidency.  The work he has done since he has been out of the oval office confirms that for me.  

Walter Mondale died yesterday.  Please read the obituary of this remarkable man who, in so many ways, made the United States and the world a better place for all of us and, potentially, generations to come if we only stand up.

These have led me to another sliver of light.

Good people are everywhere.  Many hold political office.  The nation needs to move them to the forefront.  The nation needs to hold those whose souls are even darker than the storm clouds roiling across the Gulf of Mexico, accountable and turn them loose.  The nation has done this before.  It can be done.

I am heartsick because of the death of George Floyd and the trial of Derek Chauvin.  As I write this, the jury is deliberating.  From afar, I watch Brooklyn Center  following the death of Daunte Wright and hope that peaceful protest continues.  An article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune this morning describes high school students walking out of class to protest racial injustice.  What a sliver of light that is for me!  I actually applauded when I read about the group called Minnesota Teen Activists.  They are using their collective voices to demand that we older people do more than pay bland blanket lip service to racial, gender, diversity, equity concerns.  You know, kinda the "thoughts and prayers" following a mass shooting rather than gun control bills.  You know, kinda the "our district does not tolerate this kind of behavior" rather than saying, "the students involved will be subject to disciplinary action and woe to any one of you who pulls the same kind of crap."  (Yes, I know administration can't say the stuff in italics but all the same it felt good to type it.)

Yes, believe it or not, it does rain in the Sunshine State.  It rained most of yesterday and it's going to be another rainy one today.  As I look out at the storm clouds layering one atop another over the Gulf, it's easy to stay in the malaise that  blankets the normally sun drenched beach.  Yet the clouds are magical and majestic even as they are menacing.  A sliver of light.  Defining edges merge, softly and sharply, as they careen across the sky. Another possible sliver of light.  Accompanying thunder rumbles, booms, cracks--all defining sounds of the storm, all necessary as our country struggles mightily to right our course to a space where we not only acknowledge but stand up for the inherent value of every human life, demanding accountability when the value is discarded, making that value a centerpiece of our core values and daily actions.

The nation has done this before.  It can be done.